NL ROUNDUP.

Padres Trail L.a. By 1/2-game

Braves Clinch Nl East Title

September 23, 1996|By Bob Vanderberg.

There was no Nomo "no-no" this time.

Sunday, the host San Diego Padres left Hideo Nomo with a disappointing follow-up to Tuesday night's no-hitter against Colorado, beating Los Angeles 3-2 to pull back within a half-game of the first-place Dodgers in the NL West.

With a week to go, the teams are exactly where they stood before splitting this four-game series. And they'll play each other Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Dodger Stadium to close the season.

"Looking at the way both clubs played this weekend, you kind of figure that's how it's going to end up, coming down to that last series," said the Padres' Tony Gwynn.

The Padres, who took a two-game lead in the wild-card race over Montreal, got a home run from Steve Finley and superb pitching from Andy Ashby (first win since June 28) and Trevor Hoffman (39th save). And Ken Caminiti ended any Nomo no-hitter suspense with a first-inning single.

Braves 8, Expos 2: The Braves clinched the NL East title and earned their fifth postseason berth in six years, a streak interrupted only by the 1994 strike. "We can enjoy this for a few days," said John Smoltz, who allowed only five hits in eight innings for his 23rd win and also hit a three-run homer. "But we've got three more steps before the job is done."

Reds 6-6, Cardinals 3-0: The Cardinals were swept in Cincinnati and yet still cut their NL Central magic number to 2 because Houston, incredibly, lost its eighth in a row. The Reds' Barry Larkin hit his 30th homer--to go with his 36 steals--off Donovan Osborne in the first game as the Reds overcame a 3-0 deficit. He is the 17th major-leaguer and the first shortstop in the "30-30" club. In Game 2, John Smiley (13-14) threw a one-hitter, retiring the last 17 batters in order.

Marlins 6, Astros 0: Saturday night in Miami, Andre Dawson was honored in a 50-minute pregame ceremony, then started for the first time since April 28 and went 0 for 3. But Sunday he delivered in the eighth inning with a three-run pinch homer to clinch the victory for rookie Rick Helling, a recent acquisition from Texas who held Houston hitless until the seventh and allowed only one hit in eight innings. The homer was No. 438 of Dawson's career.

Phillies 4, Mets 3: Lance Johnson collected his 219th hit, most in the big leagues since Pete Rose had 230 in 1973, but the Mets fell as the Phils' Calvin Maduro, the first Aruban to pitch in the majors, allowed two runs and six hits in six innings.